OnStar Is Always Watching You...Even When You Are Not Paying...

"Navigation-and-emergency-services company OnStar is notifying its six million account holders that it will keep a complete accounting of the speed and location of OnStar-equipped vehicles, even for drivers who discontinue monthly service. OnStar began e-mailing customers Monday about its update to the privacy policy, which grants OnStar the right to sell that GPS-derived data in an anonymized format. Adam Denison, a spokesman for the General Motors subsidiary, said OnStar does not currently sell customer data, but it reserves that right. He said both the new and old privacy policies allow OnStar to chronicle a vehicle’s every movement and its speed, though it’s not clear where that’s stated in the old policy."

david30101 saidJust unplug the antenna and they cant track the vehicle.

Is that the same antenna for the satellite radio?

It might be in the same assembly. But, some antennas cover 1.5gHz GPS, 1.8gHz PCS and 850mHz cellular. I don't recommend that route.

You will have better luck researching which black box (vehicle communications interface module) and unplugging that. They tend to locate these boxes inside the vehicle, behind the trim panels where it has a better chance surviving a collision.

Not sure why this story is making rounds on the news sites. It's been around since Day 1. Years before GM offered free OnStar trial subscriptions, it was known that the system could be activated at any time. And your conversations could be heard through the microphone.

Anyways, there are tutorials that explain how to completely disable it. Personally, OnStar was one of the reasons why I avoided buying GM vehicles, as well as some foreign cars. I believe Acura included OnStar on a few of their vehicles for a few years, until they finally decided to roll out their own service.